Chapter Text
Its night in the underworld. Every Reaper is tucked in their beds, some tired after training for long, some exhausted by reaping souls all day, but not 5012. He lays in his bed, always perfectly tidy and clean because of his strict routine, awake. For years now, his ego has stopped him from acknowledging the reason why his eyes always have dark bags under them, why he, despise from hiding it well under a cold and stoic demeanor, is always so tired when the morning comes.
And the reason is the simplest it could be: Casper. He can’t stop thinking about that man. Since he was entitled to be Casper’s trainer, 5012 can’t help but repeat the same moments with him over and over again is his mind. He goes crazy even thinking about that man’s crimson eyes, the way he was always teasing his trainer’s rules in just the right way, even the way he smiled and cheered after reaping his first soul successfully.
Under his arrogance and avoidance, he had hidden these thoughts for long. Far too long. The day Casper came in with a human, claiming they were the love of his life, his sunshine, a thing inside 5012 shattered. At the time, he was not sure what it was, but after multiple nights of thinking and thinking over and over again, it was the moment he realized that, Casper wasn’t just a trainee for him, that man was a piece of him. A warmth to his otherwise cold heart, a light to his bleak life, a drop of hope.
The pillows on his bed shifted with a thud as he turned to the other side of the bed, leaving a trail of body warmth behind. No matter how hard he tries to bury the feeling, it is impossible to ignore the emptiness on his chest, a void once filled by Casper’s presence. 5012 finally realizes he’s not going to sleep for yet another night, so he gets up from the bed and goes to the kitchen.
As he pours a glass of water for himself, he can’t help but stare at the countless awards placed in his shelves, Reaper of the Month, Best Conduct on Duty, Trainer Promotion, amongst others, and wonder why doesnt that fill in the void he’s feeling. It’s as he’s already used to being the best at everything he does, that awards doesn’t spark a flame in him. He sips on the glass of water, almost wishing it was some sort of liquor.
His apartment is as empty as his conscience, so as he trails off in his thoughts, he opens the door to go to somewhere else, for as any other place would be better than staying there, rotting. He gets in the elevator. The sound produced by the friction of the cables serve as a not so soothing reminder that he is still in this world, and still feels everything he is feeling. When the elevator door opens to the rooftop, a fresh breeze blows against his face, making his long black hair dance in the air. He walks up to the edge of the building and rests his arms on the fence, as he looks up to the sky. 5012 never thought much of the sky, as he was always too focused on his duty, but since Casper took him to see the starry sky of the mortal world, the sky of the Underworld seemed so boring.
The reaper stood there for a few moments, until he heard a sudden chime of the elevator. He slowly turned his head to see who was there and, startled, he saw 0204.
“Teach...? What are you doing here this late?” 0204 said, surprised.
“I have already stated that you may not call me ‘teach’, as I am not your ‘buddy’. Refer to me as 5012 or don’t at all.” he pointed out, annoyed at the lack of professionalism. “As for the reason of why I am here, I’m afraid it’s none of your concern.”
“Wrong! If I asked, it concerns me!”
5012 sighed, annoyed at the comment. He hated the higher-ups for putting such a little trouble as his trainee. “The reason why I’m here is personal, and I am not going to share it. In fact, I must ask: why are *you* here this late, when there is training early in the morning tomorrow?”
0204 looked away in embarassment. “Umm...Err... y’know i just wanted to see the sky... breathe fresh air...!”
“As your Trainer, I order you to go back to your apartment. Reapers are not allowed to wander the building past 11pm.”
“Fine..” 0204 said as he rolled his eyes and turned back to the elevator, annoyed. “Like anyone cares about rules in this shit...” he whispered mockingly to himself.
“What was that?”
“Nothing!”
0204 pressed a button on the elevator, making it close its doors and go down. 5012 turned his head away from the elevator, and looked back at the sky, wondering if he’d been too harsh with his trainee, but he quickly shut those thoughts down, he’s always been like that anyway.
The next day, 5012 taught the classes he was assigned to, two of them with 0204. As 5012 was walking down the hallway after he had finished all his classes, he heard someone’s running footsteps approaching him. Knowing his students well, he turned around to see who it was, almost sure that he already knew the answer to that question.
He did. Of course, it was 0204 running down the hallway to catch up on the other Reaper.
“Hey!! Teach!!” 0204 shouted, panting because of the running. “Jeez, these hallways are immense...”
“I have already told you that-” 5012 started to say, but interrupted himself with a sigh, bringing his fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose. “What do you call me for?” He asked, already annoyed.
“Oh come on no need to make that face, I just wanted to talk to you.”
“0204, If it is not any questions from the class, I have already warned you that I am not interested.” 5012 stated, while he began walking again.
The trainee also started walking to catch up, attempting to walk side by side. “I just wanted to ask why were you in the rooftop-!’’
“Not interested.” The teacher cut him off, entering his apartment and closing the door on 0204’s face.
“Hey come ooonn!! Why can’t we be friends?? Rude!’’
No response.
[---------TIMESKIP, 2 DAYS LATER---------]
The elevator’s cables hummed. 0204 was going to the rooftop, again. When the doors opened, he was met with a view of 5012, leaned over the fence on the edge of the building, smoking.
“Ohh so you’re a regular, and even smokes?” 0204 asked him, softly mocking him.
“I thought I told you that Reapers aren’t allowed to wander in the building past 11pm.” 5012 replied, drifting away from the fact that he was often in the rooftop late at night.
“I know! That is why I came here at...” 0204 looks down at his wrist to check his watch before adding: “10:56!”
“...” 5012 was in a loss of words. No one could understand how much those snarky replies from 0204 pissed him off. But the trainee was unfortunately right, it wasn’t 11pm yet, so he spoke up after a sigh: “You have exactly four minutes to talk then.”
“So, why are you so against talking about why you’re always up here?”
“Because it is personal.”
“But you’re always so strict with your routine, if somebody told me that you were not sleeping because you’re smoking in a rooftop, i would never believe it, so it must be something serious.” 0204 pointed out, sounding actually worried.
5012 took a drag of his cigarette before replying: “I understand that this doesn’t seem like something I would do, but I have my reasons to do it.”
“And what are the reasons??”
5012 sighed with his trainee’s insistence. “I am simply relaxing. If laying on my bed to sleep, which is supposed to relax me, is not working, I need to find another way to bring the amount of rest that I need for the next day.”
“And that is smoking? Doesn’t seem like a very smart thing to do honestly...”
“...I will have to agree with you. But it is what works.” The trainer looked down at his watch and added: “Your four minutes are over.”
“Already? Aww.. Come on!”
“If anyone sees that you are wandering around here past 11pm and I didn’t do anything about it, they are going to blame me. Return to your apartment.”
0204 sighed in disappointment. “Alright...”
As he was walking away back to the elevator, 5012 called him:
“0204.”
“Yes?” He replied, turning his upper body in his trainer’s direction.
“...I appreciate your concern.”
0204 smiled softly, and turned back to step into the elevator.